A Rose That Won't Bloom
by CheyWolfe
Summary: Healing Prequel. So many people knew. Not one of them did a thing and the price was paid for it. Set before Ritsuka lost his memories; told in a different way.
1. A rose that won't bloom

To: Sjohnson428

From: Mariajohnson6590

Subject: No subject

Sent on 12/18/07 at 11:45 AM from Yahoo mail

Dad—

How are things going in America? Have you met the president yet? I'm so excited to see you on TV! When are you coming back to Japan? My teacher says that she wants you to come speak to our class once you do. We're having a career day next week. Will you come and visit for that? Ritsuka-kun's dad is going, too. He's a really, really famous lawyer. Ritsuka didn't seem very excited about that, though. I wonder why. It's always exciting when parents come to the school. He was happy when his mother taught an assembly on first aid. She's a doctor, you know. Well, maybe Ritsuka-kun just spends too much time at his father's workplace, so it probably isn't exciting to learn about his work anymore.

I can't wait for you to come back to Japan! Make sure you have lots and lots of exciting stories to tell me when you do!

Love you!

-Maria

To: Mariajohnson6590

From: Sjohnson428

Subject: No subject

Sent on 12/18/07 5:28 PM from Yahoo mail

Maria—

Things are going very well overseas. I have not yet met with the new president, but I will on the inauguration date. I was given time off afterward to come back to Japan to spend time with you, your brother, and your mother. I should make career day. If I can't, I'll make a call and ask if I can have some more time off.

By Ritsuka-kun, you mean Ritsuka Aoyagi, right? He seemed like a nice boy. Does he play with you and the other kids often? Is he your age? If I remember correctly, he has a brother, unless my 'old age,' as you call it, has made my memories fade. I think I met his father and mother, as well. Kiyoshi Aoyagi and Misaki Aoyagi were his parents and his brother was…Seimei Aoyagi? Perhaps I really am getting old.

With love,

-Dad

To: Sjohnson428

From: Mariajohnson6590

Subject: No subject

Sent on 12/19/07 at 6:45 AM from Yahoo mail

Dad—

I think you were right on their names, even though you used the wrong order. It's supposed to be Aoyagi Kiyoshi, not Kiyoshi Aoyagi. I've met Ritsuka-kun's mother lots of times. She's nice; and as for Mr. Aoyagi… I try to stay away from him. He scares me a lot. He's been especially scary in the last few months. I can always hear him yelling at Ritsuka at night and then I hear Ritsuka-kun crying really, really loudly. It's…weird and I'm scared for Ritsuka. I don't know what to do.

-Maria

To: Mariajohnson6590

From: Sjohnson428

Subject: URGENT

Sent on 12/19/07 7:12 AM from Yahoo mail

Are you still online, Maria? Pick up your phone. I need to talk to you.

* * *

><p>Maria Johnson was a girl who'd been born in America. She considered herself Japanese, though, since she'd been living in Japan for the majority of her life. In 2008, she was only ten years old and knew that there was something clearly wrong in the Aoyagi household. Being only ten, though, she expressed her concern to no one but her beloved father, a noble and good man, in hopes that he would help her friend. This had been going on for months before she finally told him, although both her older brother and her mother knew about it. Later on the night of December nineteenth, she finally picked up the home phone after a phone call from her father, which went unanswered. She told her father everything she had heard from the house next to theirs, all about the screams from her friend and the loud groans from his father. Her father, Samuel Johnson, promised to fly out as soon as possible and warned little Maria to stay away from Aoyagi Kiyoshi.<p>

After all was done, Maria lived with the pain of not telling anyone after her father's death. As she aged, she learned what exactly had happened. She would never forgive herself, for every time she closed her eyes, she saw the eyes of her dear friend, the pain, the suffering….all that could've been fixed by her telling a teacher.

* * *

><p><strong>Coroner's Report Autopsy Summary <strong>

**Name**: JOHNSON, Samuel Walter

**DOB: **5/7/64

**Race: **Caucasian, American

**Sex: **Male

**Date of Death: **12/21/07

**Body identified by: **Mary Johnson, wife of deceased; Maria Johnson, daughter of deceased

**Case #:** 000388-21A-2007

**Investigative Agency: **Tokyo Sheriff's Department

**Place of Death:** Tokyo, Japan

**Manner of Death: **Homicide

**Immediate Cause of Death: **Gunshot wound to front of head

* * *

><p>It's on the nightly news at seven, he sees. A woman, the regular newscaster pales as she prepares herself to present the next story. She's new and it's obvious she's squeamish about murder stories, especially this one, since it is a murder of an important figure in America. He already knows the story before she even speaks, but listens to everything anyway.<p>

"This next story happened just hours ago," She speaks loudly as if to cover up her blunder. He sees it, though. He sees everything. "Samuel Johnson, the secretary of security in America, was shot execution style on his way to the airport to return to America. The shooter has been caught. In other news…"

He smiles, a wicked grin finding its way to his face. That man had been too nosy. Nobody will ever stop him. Everyone is too afraid to do anything. He can look all he wants and touch all he wants. He's unstoppable. He holds the power in his hands, power over the boy, power over the woman, even power over the neighborhood. Without another thought, he calls the boy down and rubs the front of his pants, already hard from all the thoughts of him.

* * *

><p>Principal Hoshino,<p>

I'm sorry that this is not written in an email. The system seems to be broken again. Anyway, Aoyagi Ritsuka came to school late once again with his uniform dirtied. This is the third time this week. I'm beginning to think there's something going on at home.

Watanabe-sensei,

I'm sure your worries are for nothing. He is a child, after all, and children get dirty. Aoyagi-san is not a particularly exceptional student, either, and he is young, so please don't expect him to be punctual every day. A little dirt never hurt anyone, anyway, and being a few minutes late to class isn't so bad, though, as long as it's only every once in awhile. I would not worry.

Principal Hoshino,

Perhaps I was not clear enough in my first note.

Aoyagi Ritsuka has been hours late to class, not minutes, and his uniform is not dirtied with dirt, but with what looks to be semen. It is also not just 'a little.' It is all over his uniform, shirt and pants. I apologize if this note comes across as rude and short, but I am very concerned about what's going on at home.

Watanabe-sensei,

Yes, this is an issue to be concerned about. I will make sure to look into this. I will immediately schedule a conference with his parents and ask his brother's teachers at Honor High School. Thank you for informing me of this problem.

* * *

><p><strong>CONFERENCE REPORT: Aoyagi Ritsuka <strong>

**PART ONE of four**

**Date: 1/3/08**

**Time: 4:00 PM**

**With whom: Aoyagi Ritsuka (alone, with brother), Aoyagi Seimei (alone, with brother, with reports from his teachers)**

**Conference by: Watanabe Reika (Aoyagi Ritsuka's teacher) and Principal/Doctor Hoshino Fujio **

**Location: Tokyo Pediatric Hospital**

**Notes (written by Watanabe Reika): **_The first thing Principle Hoshino and I did was: ask for Ritsuka-kun's parents to wait outside. Ritsuka asked for his brother to come in with him and Doctor Hoshino agreed that he could sit in for at least part of the interview._

_The first thing I noticed was that Aoyagi Ritsuka immediately sat in his brother's lap, instead of in the provided chair. Aoyagi Seimei did not object. Ritsuka-kun seems very comfortable with his brother, even hugging him around us. Seimei-san did not interfere, as he promised. I asked Ritsuka-kun a round of questions, and he seemed to become increasingly uncomfortable. I have logged the question, comments, and answers._

_Question one, asked by myself: Hello, Ritsuka-kun. I'm sorry we had to call you in here on a Saturday. Were you doing something important with your friends?_

_Ritsuka-kun: Not really. I was playing basketball with the kids in my neighborhood. Seimei was watching us._

_Comment (Doctor Hoshino): I heard you are on the basketball team, Ritsuka-kun. I'll have to come watch the next game._

_Question two, asked by Doctor Hoshino, following his comment: Do your parents come to your games?_

_Ritsuka looked down, and then answered, clearly a bit uncomfortable: Mom does. So does Seimei._

_Question three, asked by myself: What about your father?_

_(Ritsuka-kun hesitated and whispered something to Seimei.)_

_Comment (Doctor Hoshino): Ritsuka-san, please speak to us. You're not in any trouble, I promise. We're just talking. Are you uncomfortable?_

_Ritsuka-kun: I'm a little thirsty…could I please have some water?_

_(Doctor Hoshino smiled, agreed, and left the room. Ritsuka-kun grabbed the pad of paper from my hands and wrote 'help' on it.)_

_Me: Ritsuka-kun…?_

_Ritsuka-kun: …I'm sorry…_

_(Ritsuka-kun glanced again at the paper before ripping it off the pad and crumpling it up, proceeding to tear it to shreds.)_

_(Here, Seimei-san asked for a few moments with Ritsuka. Doctor Hoshino returned and agreed. Seimei-san took Ritsuka-kun into the bathroom. Doctor Hoshino told me to follow them. They left the door open and only Seimei-san noticed me, not Ritsuka-kun. Seimei-san knelt down to Ritsuka's height, holding him by the shoulders. Ritsuka-kun cried and franticly rubbed his eyes. Doctor Hoshino had asked me to record their conversation.)_

_Seimei-san: Ritsuka, please tell me what's going on._

_(Ritsuka-kun cried and shook his head.)  
><em>

_Seimei-san: I saw what you wrote on Watanabe-sensei's notepad, Ritsuka. _

_(Ritsuka-kun whimpered)_

_Seimei-san: Please tell me what's wrong. I can only help you if I know what's wrong._

_Ritsuka-kun: I can't…_

_Seimei-san: Ritsuka, is it something to do with Mother?_

_(Ritsuka-kun shook his head again and rubbed his eyes)_

_Seimei-san: Is it Father? Is he doing something to you, Ritsuka?_

_Ritsuka-kun: No! No! He's not! He's not, Seimei! He's not!_

_(Seimei-san hugged Ritsuka. I walked away and returned to my post with Doctor Hoshino. We gave Ritsuka a small break to talk about whatever he wanted, and then continued on with our first conversation.)_

* * *

><p>They were called 'The Circle.' Or, at least, that's what the parents of the children called them. The name was only given to said children because they were the youngsters who lived in or near the large cul-de-sac. The Aoyagi family (Ritsuka, age 10; Seimei, age 15) lived at the very pinnacle of it. Next to them were the Johnsons (Maria, age 10; Jake, age 9) to the left, and the Honda family to the right (Nakamaro, age 12), the Watoga family (Ryushi, age 10; twin brother Roku; elder sister Rinako, age 12) lived next to the Honda family, and the Toma family (Chizu, age 10; younger brother Yuu, age 8; elder sister Fuyuko, age 13; elder sister Rin, age 11) lived next to the Johnsons, the five families making up the round portion of the cul-de-sac.<p>

On the streets leading up to the round portion, lived four families on each side of the street, totaling thirteen houses on the same street. Four of the houses on the non-curving part had kids: the Sakai family (Junichi, age 10, elder brother Giichi, age 11; younger brother Daisuke, age 8), the Ijichi family (Tomoyuki, age 11; elder sister Tomoe, age 15), the Eto family (Elda, age 11), and the Nakayama family (triplets Yatsuhiro, Aki, and Hayato, age 10), making the grand total for kids on their street twenty-one.

It was a miracle; really, that all of the families had their children around the same years and all happened to move in to the neighborhood. That's all it was—a miracle. As a result of this miracle, the twenty-one kids were very close, especially the ten year-olds and the eleven year-olds. The older kids usually went off and did their own thing and the younger kids tended to separate themselves from the others, but the twelve kids making up the ten through eleven group stuck together. They were closer than close, and most went to the same school. They protected each other and played together. Nobody was left out.

There was one secret that they never talked about, though. All of them were too scared of Aoyagi Kiyoshi to even approach that topic. All of them knew what he did to his son, but not one of them did a thing.

It wasn't really their fault. They were just children, after all, children who knew nothing about sex. They knew that whatever Ritsuka's father was doing to him was bad, but they couldn't comprehend exactly what it was, and therefore never knew what would happen if they neglected to tell. Every one of them knew, and would later regret not telling, especially when they watched their dear friend get taken away by the demon.

* * *

><p><strong>CONFERENCE REPORT: Aoyagi Ritsuka <strong>

**PART TWO of four**

**Date: 1/3/08**

**Time: 4:23 PM**

**With whom: Aoyagi Ritsuka (alone, with brother), Aoyagi Seimei (alone, with brother, with reports from his teachers)**

**Conference by: Watanabe Reika (Aoyagi Ritsuka's teacher) and Principal/Doctor Hoshino Fujio **

**Location: Tokyo Pediatric Hospital**

**Notes (written by Watanabe Reika): **_By now, Ritsuka has calmed down considerably, though he still appears to be jumpy. We gradually ease into proceeding with the questioning. I have logged the question, comments, and answers._

_Question three (Doctor Hoshino): Are either of your parents coming to the school fair, Ritsuka-kun? _

_Comment (Doctor Hoshino, following his question): We would be very grateful to have your father here._

_Ritsuka-kun: NO._

_(He shouts his answer. Both Doctor Hoshino and I notice.)_

_Ritsuka-kun: I…I mean… I already know so much about my dad's work. I want my mom to come instead. She's a doctor._

_(He laughs nervously.)_

_Question four (myself): Is your mother home much?_

_Ritsuka-kun: On weekends. _

_Question five (myself): What about on weekdays?_

_Ritsuka-kun: Not really. She tries to be home as much as possible, but I understand it's not her fault if she gets called away._

_Question five (myself): So, are you home a lot alone?_

_(Ritsuka-kun hesitates.)_

_Ritsuka-kun: …no…_

_Question six (Doctor Hoshino): Who stays home with you?_

_Ritsuka-kun: Seimei… Daddy… _

_Question seven (Doctor Hoshino): Do you have a baby sitter?_

_(Ritsuka doesn't answer until his brother leans forward and says something in Ritsuka-kun's ear. What he says is loud enough for Doctor Hoshino and I to hear.)_

_Seimei-san: Ritsuka, you need to talk to these people. They're here to help you. We'll go home soon._

_Ritsuka-kun: I don't want to go home, Seimei…_

_Seimei-san: I'll take you to Grandmother's house after this, then. We'll spend tomorrow there. I promise. Please talk to these people. We're all concerned about you. _

_Ritsuka-kun: Okay…_

_(Ritsuka turns back to us.)_

_Ritsuka-kun: No… but sometimes I have to play the babysitter game with Daddy._

_(I notice Seimei-san looking rather startled. It appears to be the first time he's heard this.)_

_Question eight (asked by Doctor Hoshino): What's that, Ritsuka-kun? _

_(Ritsuka begins to cry again. He asks Doctor Hoshino to leave.)_

_Ritsuka-kun: I don't want to do this anymore!_

_Me: It's okay, Ritsuka-kun. Do you want to take a break? There's a nice garden outside. We could go out there and talk a little more. I think Doctor Hoshino wants to talk to Seimei-san a little. _

_(Ritsuka-kun looks at his brother.)_

_Ritsuka-kun: Are you sure it's okay to go to Grandma's house after this? How are we going to get there?_

_Seimei-san: Yes, we'll either go there or we'll stay the night somewhere else. I have an older friend who can drive us. Go with Watanabe-sensei, now. _

_Ritsuka-kun: Okay…_

* * *

><p>Ritsuka's mother had invited Watoga Ryushi-kun and Roku-kun over to play one afternoon. They were having fun with Ritsuka, playing video games with him and then laughing and playing tricks as Seimei pretended he couldn't tell the three of them apart, even though Ritsuka looked nothing like the Watoga twins. Then, Ritsuka's mother had left to take Seimei somewhere, and Ritsuka's father had called the boy down to his office. Minutes passed, and soon the twins heard a sound that sounded like a muffled scream. Following that noise was Ritsuka's father yelling at him to shut up.<p>

Both twins started at the sound, the two of them creeping towards the door.

"No, no, no, please! I have friends over! Please, Daddy! Stop it!"

Ritsuka sobbed; his voice high and loud. The twins were both curious and terrified, both shaking uncontrollably but inching down the stairs now. They could see the slightly open door from the middle of the stairs, but none of what was going on inside. They could still hear sounds, though: Ritsuka's crying and begging "Stop," and his father's grunts, as well as a creaking of a desk. What was going on inside? What was happening? Ten was far too young to understand what Kiyoshi was doing to Ritsuka or why. Even Ritsuka himself could not quite comprehend the reason.

When the twins peaked inside the half-open door, they saw a sight they would never forget. Ritsuka's father had him tied down to his desk and was on top of the boy, a hand over his mouth. Ritsuka, the twins' happy, energetic friend, was crying, tears streaking down his face. His body was stripped of any sort of clothing. He saw them and turned his eyes to them, pleading for help. The twins just bolted, running as fast as they could back to their own house.

* * *

><p><strong>CONFERENCE REPORT: Aoyagi Ritsuka <strong>

**PART THREE of four**

**Date: 1/3/08**

**Time: 5:44 PM**

**With whom: Aoyagi Ritsuka (alone, with brother), Aoyagi Seimei (alone, with brother, with reports from his teachers)**

**Conference by: Watanabe Reika (Aoyagi Ritsuka's teacher) and Principal/Doctor Hoshino Fujio **

**Location: Garden Courtyard of Tokyo Pediatric Hospital**

**Notes (written by Watanabe Reika): **_I have taken Ritsuka outside into the garden so that he will feel more comfortable. For some reason, he seems wary and uncomfortable around Doctor Hoshino. I'm not sure why. Perhaps he is like that with all men? I do not know and it is not my place to figure out. Once Ritsuka-kun calms down, we continue talking. I have logged the question, comments, and answers._

_Question nine (myself): So; Ritsuka-kun. You seem very close to your brother. Do you spend a lot of time with him? Are you around him a lot?_

_Ritsuka-kun: Yes. I'm happy that he likes me so much. He's my best friend, sensei. He's never hurt me. _

_Question ten (myself): Has he ever made you uncomfortable? _

_Ritsuka-kun: No._

_Question eleven (myself): Has he ever touched you in a place you didn't want?_

_Ritsuka-kun: No, never._

_Question twelve (myself): Does he know what's going on at home?_

_(Ritsuka-kun looks away)_

_Ritsuka-kun: Nothing's going on at home._

_Comment (myself): Ritsuka-kun, I know you're lying. Please talk to us. Your grades have been dropping into near failure and you've changed in the past few months._

_Question thirteen (myself): Is it your brother, Ritsuka-kun? _

_Ritsuka-kun (yelling): No! Seimei would never hurt me!_

_Question fourteen (myself): _Has_ someone been hurting you?_

_Ritsuka-kun: I can't tell…_

_Comment (myself): If you tell us, we'll stop whoever has been hurting you. We'll take you away from there._

_Ritsuka-kun: No one's been hurting me._

_Question fifteen (myself): Are you telling me the truth?_

_(Ritsuka-kun is silent.)_

_Question sixteen (myself): Ritsuka-kun, what was the substance on your uniform Monday, Thursday, and Friday this week?_

_(Ritsuka-kun is silent.)_

_Question seventeen (myself): Why were you also hours late to school on those days?_

_(Ritsuka-kun is silent.)_

_Question eighteen (myself): Are you safe at home?_

_(Ritsuka-kun is silent.)_

_Question nineteen (myself): Are you happy at home?_

_(Ritsuka-kun is silent.)_

_Question twenty (myself): Ritsuka-kun, are you alright?_

_Ritsuka-kun: No…_

* * *

><p>It was so cold out, so very, very cold. It seemed to send a chill right through his heart. He pressed a hand against the glass, hoping that she'd be back soon so that It wouldn't hurt him again. Or better yet—maybe his savior would be back and they would let him curl up in bed and would hold him until the pain passed. That was a nice thought. When he was with his savior, he almost felt human again. When he was withIt, however, he felt like a monster or a dirty piece of garbage.<p>

Snow blanketed the outside world. It was winter, after all, and that was what happened when it was winter. He'd almost forgotten that the outside world could function correctly when the inside was so broken. He wanted to go outside and play in the snow, just like all of his friends were currently doing. He'd taint the pure whiteness of it, dirty it, turn it into something terrible. He didn't want to break something so innocent, so pure. He'd ruin it. He could do no good.

Now he pressed both hands against the clear glass of the front door. He hoped It wouldn't come out and see he had opened the big wooden door so he could see out through the clear glass screen. If It did see, It would beat him and force him to do…other things, things that he was far too young to even know about.

He watched his friends play out in the snow. He wanted to play, too. Maybe when his savior came home, they could go play together in the snow. He'd like that. He liked nice thoughts like that; it kept his mind off of It. They could frolic in the snow and perhaps he and his brother, his savior, would go to their grandmother's house. Then, he could see his brother's older friend, a man who was also friendly to him. He loved Seimei and Soubi, his brother's friend. They helped him and were the only men he wasn't afraid of.

Silently, he unlatched the door and padded outside, barefoot and coatless. When he got into the yard, the snow crunched beneath his cold feet and he tiptoed across the yard, scared to put his entire foot down and put footprints in the snow. His friends stopped playing in the snow, watching him, probably curious why he was out so soon after hearing his screams. He didn't even know why he screamed anymore. It was useless. It never stopped. It never let him go. It only got satisfaction out of his sobs and screams.

He lay down in the snow, making an exact imprint of his body. His back still bled from the belt lashings he'd been given for his grades falling. Why couldn't It understand that the reason his grades fell was because he could only focus on how It had pinned him against the counters earlier that morning, had groped him and squirted milky liquid all over him again and again? How could he study for test at night when It would shove him to his knees, unzip his pants, and make him, a little, ten year old boy suck him until he released that strange liquid? Every day it got worse and worse and he was beginning to feel less and less human.

He was failing in school. He tried, he really, really tried to do better, but he couldn't pull himself back out of the hole It had pushed him in. Even calm, gentle Seimei expressed disappointment in him, and that especially made him cry, since all he wanted was for Seimei to love him.

* * *

><p><strong>HONOR SCHOOL CHAT ROOM—GRADE NINE<strong>

**Rules: Please refrain from usage of bad language and be nice!**

**USER Sozui: **Does anyone know the homework for Geometry?

**USER Hatsuyo: **Ask Seimei-san. He's in the same hour as you.

**USER Chomei: **Is Seimei-san even online?

**USER Sozui: **Don't think so. He's too obsessed with his brother.

**USER Chomei: **What? But we're required to meet here on Thursdays.

**USER Sozui: **Please. He values his dumb brother over everything else.

**USER Machi: **Dumb is an understatement. My little sister is in Seimei-san's brother's class. The kid is failing nearly every subject.

**USER Haruhiro: **That can't be true. Seimei-san tutors his brother every day.

**USER Hatsuyo: **Seimei's the top of our class. His little brother can't be stupid.

**USER Chomei: **Maybe he hates his brother and gives him all the wrong answers…

**USER Sozui: **Can you not read? I said he's obsessed with his brother.

**USER Machi: **I'm not lying. The kid has nearly failing grades. His teachers had to call a _conference_!  
><strong>USER Hatsue: <strong>No way. I've never heard of a teacher calling a conference unless it's to talk about school choices.

**USER Machi: **It's true!

**USER Akira: **My brother says the exact same thing. Also, the kid comes to school _hours_ late and his uniform has this weird white stuff all over it. It seems gross.

**USER Hatsuyo: **Ew.

**USER Hatsue: **That is really gross.

**USER Sozui: **I don't see why Seimei-san is so obsessed with him.

**USER Haruhiro: **I know. The last time I was over to study, the kid came right in Seimei-san's room and went right up to him and _sat in his lap_. He didn't even say a word!

**USER Chomei: **WHAT?

**USER Akira: **Did he say why?

**USER Haruhiro: **No! He didn't say anything! The little idiot just sat right in Seimei-san's lap and started crying like a little baby.

**USER Haruhiro has been permanently banned**

**USER chat disabled until ADMIN re-enables**

**ADMIN chat enabled**

**ADMIN Seimei: **None of you have any right to talk about Ritsuka. I've been monitoring the entire session. If any of you say another word about him, you'll be banned.

**ADMIN Seimei disconnect**

* * *

><p><strong>CONFERENCE REPORT: Aoyagi Ritsuka <strong>

**PART FOUR of four**

**Date: 1/3/08**

**Time: 5:30 PM**

**With whom: Aoyagi Ritsuka (alone, with brother), Aoyagi Seimei (alone, with brother, with reports from his teachers)**

**Conference by: Watanabe Reika (Aoyagi Ritsuka's teacher) and Principal/Doctor Hoshino Fujio **

**Where: Tokyo Pediatric Hospital**

**Notes (written by Doctor Hoshino): **_After Aoyagi Ritsuka leaves with Watanabe-sensei, I am left with his brother, Aoyagi Seimei. Seimei-san seems very calm, but frustrated. As a psychologist, I can make a hypothesis on what he is frustrated about. Perhaps he has observed his brother acting differently and wonders what about? Perhaps he is the one abusing his brother and is worrying about Ritsuka-san telling?_

_Me: Is there something you're worried about, Seimei-san?_

_Me: Ritsuka. He's changed a lot in the past few months._

_(Seimei-san seems rather distracted, as if he is not focusing on me, but something beyond me.)_

_Me: Changed?_

_Seimei-san: Yes. He used to be energetic and happy…like a normal ten year-old boy. He loved playing with the kids on our block and playing sports and even when I helped him with his homework, but lately…he's not Ritsuka. He barely goes outside, he rarely talks, he only goes to basketball practice if I walk him there and stay with him…and even when I try to help him with his homework, he just ends up crying or throwing a book at me. _

_Me: You seem concerned about him._

_Seimei-san: I am. Something's going on and he won't tell me._

_Me: How do you know something is going on?_

_Seimei-san: How could I not? _

_Me: What do you mean?_

_Seimei-san: He used to tell me everything, and now he won't tell me a thing. He pulls away when any male touches him. He—_

_Me: Any male? He wasn't fazed when he was sitting in here with you. _

_(Seimei-san seems quite irritated I interrupted him.)_

_Seimei-san: Yes, I'm the only male he allows to touch him. I've noticed that it's only worse with males—he will also pull away from females, even our mother._

_Me: Is there anything else that is different about him?_

_Seimei-san: Yes. He's been wetting the bed lately. _

_Me: Is there a reason why?_

_Seimei-san: I hate that question. No, I do not know why. _

_Me: Did he tell you this?_

_Seimei-san: No. We sleep together a lot. He sometimes comes into my room in the middle of the night and tells me he wants to sleep with me. Other times he just falls asleep in my room. _

_Me: Does that make you angry?_

_Seimei-san: Why would it? We're brothers. He trusts me. He comes to me for comfort. It makes him feel better to sleep with someone. Is that so wrong?_

_Me: Does Ritsuka-kun talk to you a lot?_

_Seimei-san: He goes through phases. Sometimes he's the energetic, talkative boy I used to know. Sometimes he just sits in my lap and hugs me and won't say a word. _

_Me: Does he seem to like you?_

_Seimei-san: Most of the time._

_Me: What about the other times?_

_Seimei-san: When he gets frustrated, he'll usually throw books at me. I haven't the slightest idea why._

* * *

><p>The snow was so cold, even through his thin, white shirt. He lay in the snow, staring up at the blindingly blue skies, wondering where the sun had gone. He breathed slowly, in, out, in, out; his breath creating little visible puffs in the air. The chilly snow wet his back, his shoulder blades probably still bleeding. It had known that he was sensitive there. It knew everything, all his weaknesses, all the things that made him happy. It took all the things that made him smile and shattered them, breaking them right in front of his eyes and then getting off to the way he cried and screamed afterward.<p>

He let the coldness numb his body, first causing it to go tingly and then completely numbing him.

He was only ten. A ten year old, laying in the snow, his arms out and his legs spread slightly. Why did he feel older? He didn't feel like 'Ritsuka' anymore. That was such a pretty name for such an ugly monster. The tears beaded in his eyes, and he wanted the inside to be numb, as well as the outside. Couldn't this numb feeling seep into his inside, as well? There had to be a way to make it so. He wanted to feel no more, to have all the pain disappear into nothing. He wanted an end, an end to everything. Then, there'd be no more feeling left, no more pain, and no more bittersweet hope. Nothing; there would be nothing. Everything would be numb, everything inside and out.

He wondered if someone out there still loved him.

His savior just seemed to become increasingly frustrated with his silence every day. It only seemed to get worse. Last night, he'd woken up to It standing over his bed, watching him sleep and rubbing himself as he did so. It had scared him, terrified him, and paralyzed him. He'd kept his eyes shut, praying It hadn't noticed he was awake. When It groaned, the boy had known it was all over and had breathed out a sigh of relief. It then left, and the ten year-old, in tears, had crept to his brother's room and crawled into bed with him.

It no longer loved him, and Ritsuka didn't want It to. As much as he hated to acknowledge the fact, It was his father, the man he called 'Daddy', the man who'd taught him to walk and talk as a child.

He hated his father. He hated himself. He couldn't take this feeling any more. Every feeling that came to be only brought more pain. This all needed to end. Even if there was someone who loved him…they wouldn't be able to pull him out of the grave It had dug for him.

Slowly, he stood, looking down at his snow person. It couldn't be called a snow angel since he hadn't waved his arms around. Blood dotted the snow, on opposite sides of the imprint, on the very edge of the snow person, right where his shoulder blades would be. He smiled morbidly at what he'd done. An angel with its wings ripped off. It seemed so fitting.

A crash from inside alerted him, making his ears stand straight up and his eyes grow wide with fear. He didn't want to get in trouble again! He'd just been punished! He couldn't go through that again, not so soon!

So, he did the only thing he could do. He ran away.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I reached 300 reviews on Healing, so I decided to put this, the first part of the first prequel up. The second part will be up in a week or two. I'll write another prequel, too, one revolving around Soubi and Kio.<strong>

**Title taken from The Offspring's 'Kristy, are you doin okay?'  
><strong>

**Review please!**

**~Wolfie  
><strong>


	2. Winter's kept you

**FINAL CONFERENCE EVALUATION (written by Doctor Hoshino):**

_There is definitely something going on in the Aoyagi household. It's pretty clear after reviewing all the conference reports. Ritsuka-kun is unwilling to talk about it, though, and Seimei-san seems to not know what is going on, but he does suspect something. I have determined that Ritsuka-kun is being abused by a male close to him and the male abusing him is not Seimei-san. I will set up an in-depth investigation of his home as soon as possible._

* * *

><p>The first person to notice Ritsuka's disappearance was his father, since the man had been looking for the boy to abuse him again. He looked through the entire house, first happy, since Ritsuka hiding from him warranted a harder, more elaborate punishment. He fantasized as he searched for the boy, his current mind only set on indulging. This was before his sickness got worse, before he lost complete control, before he realized how sick he was. This was when his personalities stayed in place for a long time, the one wanting to beat and rape and abuse his own son being the most dominant. This was when he had power and could do whatever he wanted. This was before Seimei stopped him, before his eldest son lost all trust and respect for the human race.<p>

He searched and searched for the scared little boy, getting painfully aroused by doing so. After about an hour, he finally went into Ritsuka's room, lay on his bed, and jerked himself off until he came all over the boy's sheets. He smirked, and then left without cleaning up. Ritsuka would know as soon he returned home and went to sleep. Kiyoshi's smirk stayed as he imagined the little boy begging him to change his sheets. Misaki would let him, that stupid, oblivious woman, but Kiyoshi wouldn't. He would stop him; tell him to deal with the smell and stiffness. The boy would know what he did. He knew far too much for his age. He'd have to be punished for that, as well.

The next place Kiyoshi checked was outside, where he suddenly realized what had happened. That little whore had run away! There were footprints in the snow, leading all the way down the block and even further. Beside himself with rage, Kiyoshi threw on boots and a coat and scarf and followed that stupid boy's tracks down the sidewalk, hurrying along. What was that kid thinking? If that little idiot thought he could run away, he was wrong. He couldn't escape. He would never escape. Kiyoshi held his life, his mid, his _everything _in his hands. He couldn't escape the all-powerful. He must have forgotten everything that Kiyoshi had taught him in the past few months. Kiyoshi saw and knew everything. Ritsuka wouldn't even be able to get out of the neighborhood. He would find him.

Kiyoshi walked and walked, following his son's footsteps into the town part of the district. There, one pair of footsteps turned into one million and as much as he tried to follow his son's, he lost the boys tracks in a sea of others and wasn't able to designate between them. In a fit of rage, he returned home and called the police, reporting his youngest son missing.

* * *

><p>The second person to notice Ritsuka missing was Seimei once he returned home to find the police at his house. He walked upstairs, noticed by neither the police nor his father, and peered inside Ritsuka's room, immediately knowing why the police were there as soon as he saw the empty room. Had Ritsuka run away? Every day, the young boy seemed to get more distant and depressed. This didn't exactly surprise Seimei, but what he saw on the bed did.<p>

Of course, Seimei had his suspicions of why Ritsuka was acting so strange. One of the options was always that one of their parents was abusing him, though that option wasn't very likely since, back then, Seimei trusted his parents and believed that neither of them would _ever _hurt their children. He was naive, even though he was already in the planning stages of his attack on Septimal Moon. He was far from innocent, and years later, after all had gone down and Ritsuka was in Soubi's care, he would think about how stupid he'd been, how he hadn't seen what that…that _monster_ had been doing to his little Ritsuka. These thoughts would preoccupy him for years and years and he knew he would never stop regretting ignoring all the signs that had been right in front of him.

Contrary to what Septimal Moon, Nisei, and Soubi all thought, Seimei was not self-centered. He stopped being so after finding out what had happened to Ritsuka. In fact, afterwards, he _hated_ himself. How could he not, after finding his little brother, his beloved, being raped by their own father, sick, humiliated, and having to comply with his daddy's every whim? It had all been his fault. He could've prevented it, but his fifteen year-old self had been too absorbed in his own activities to do anything.

He, unlike Ritsuka, knew much more about sex, and could clearly identify the still un-dried white liquid on the bed. He set out to find Ritsuka as well, calling Soubi first, since he could perform tracking spells.

* * *

><p>He walked and walked, walking through the city, the snow, and even on the frozen beaches. Night fell and midnight came. He heard stories while passing by televisions in the city of a missing boy from a residential district, but he just kept on walking, sure that he'd left his own district hours ago. People stopped him on the street, asking why he was barefoot and dressed in a white t-shirt with blood on the back and a thin pair of jeans. He wouldn't talk to any of them. He just walked away, disappearing into another crowd, his mind blank and his thought process only focused on walking away. He only wanted to go one place, and he was trying hard to get to that one place. If he could reach the university, he'd be able to ask someone at student services for the address he was trying to get to.<p>

Mizuki drummed her fingers on her desk, checking her watch again and waiting for her shift to end. This job irritated her to no end. The university was in the middle of Tokyo and she was stuck here, at the Student Services Desk as punishment for pulling the fire alarm as a joke. Really, who would call Student Services at one in the morning on a Friday? Everyone else was either asleep or out having fun, like Mizuki should've been.

Suddenly, the front doors to the student center were opened, the bell atop them ringing and alerting Mizuki. She put on her best smile, expecting some drunken student to walk in, but instead had to look over the tall desk just to see the little boy staring up at her with big blue eyes.

"Hello," She greeted softly. She loved children, and was suddenly concerned for this one. His white shirt stained with dirt and what appeared to be blood. He wasn't wearing any shoes or socks, either, or a coat or gloves. His feet were dirty, nearly blackened, as if he had walked a very, very far distance. He was shivering violently, holding his arms, his face drained of all color.

"I…I'm looking for someone," He said in a tiny voice, his teeth chattering. "Could…could you please look him up for me? I need to find him before dawn…"

Mizuki, forgetting all about her distress at not being able to go out, invited the little boy over to her side of the desk and wrapped the blanket she had brought around him. With tears rolling down his cheeks, he thanked her and then asked again if she'd look someone up for her. She answered yes, and he whispered the name of a man who was quite famous around the campus for being a loner.

* * *

><p><strong>Police Report: <strong>Runaway case of Aoyagi Ritsuka

**Date: **1/10/08

**Notes: **Aoyagi Kiyoshi called at 2:00 PM to report his youngest son missing. Three officers were sent to the house. The eldest brother, Aoyagi Seimei returned home soon after. He left nearly five minutes later, saying that he was going for a walk. An officer tailed him and reported him meeting a blonde man who was identified as Agatsuma Soubi. The two left in a car and went to Agatsuma's apartment, where the officer was sent to tail and asked the two a series of questions. Neither of the two seemed to know much, though Aoyagi Seimei expressed distress over his brother's disappearance.

Next, the father and mother were questioned. The only thing that seemed suspicious was that the father, Aoyagi Kiyoshi, seemed annoyed and irritated rather than distressed. The mother, Aoyagi Misaki, was in tears and exhibiting common behavior of a mother dealing with a runaway child.

The first thing done was the delivery of a tracking dog to the scene. The dog was allowed to sniff at Aoyagi Ritsuka's bed sheets. Immediately, the dog barked at Aoyagi Kiyoshi, who admitted that he slept in the same bed with his son the previous night after Aoyagi Ritsuka had nightmares.

Next, the tracking dog was given a sample of Aoyagi Ritsuka's clothes and then taken out onto the sidewalk, where there were footprints in the snow which matched Aoyagi Ritsuka. The dog followed the scent into the city, where it was eventually lost.

Other leads are currently being investigated, as this case is also suspected to be a kidnapping.

* * *

><p>Agatsuma Soubi was fast asleep at nearly two in the morning, after being out, attempting to track Ritsuka with Seimei. It had been a failure, since even tracking spells couldn't work in a crowded area such as downtown Tokyo. Seimei hadn't said too much during the day, so there had been no insults thrown at him or any harsh words, just the occasional order or muttered words that gave Soubi indication on how worried his master was.<p>

Soubi had been a good boy and hadn't disobeyed Seimei or done anything to irk him. This had earned him a small, distracted pat on the head and a quiet 'Good boy, Soubi,' at the end of the day, which had made Soubi more than happy with himself.

Thus, he'd been able to get to sleep just fine, and had even gone to bed at a reasonable hour, just as Seimei had suggested, though not ordered. For once, no dreams had haunted him and he'd slept well—until his cell phone rang.

Soubi reached in the darkness for it, expecting a call from Seimei, but instead finding it was from the university's student center. What could they possibly want with him?

* * *

><p>The nice lady at the Student Center let him, dirty, tired Ritsuka, sit in her lap and play on her computer while they waited for Soubi to come pick Ritsuka up. She didn't make Ritsuka walk or even call his brother. He sat quietly, trying to be polite to the nice woman. She waited until Soubi walked in the door to leave, even though Ritsuka knew it was probably past the end of her shift.<p>

"Ritsuka-san, what are you doing here?" Soubi asked as soon as he walked in the door, seeming more frustrated than angry. "Where's your coat? Don't you know Seimei's been looking for you?"

Ritsuka looked at his feet, ashamed. Soubi was scolding him and had every right to do so. He'd woken him and made him come all the way to the Student Center to pick him up at two in the morning. He'd probably joined Seimei in the search for Ritsuka, as well, since Soubi always joined Seimei in those kinds of things.

"I'm sorry, Soubi-san," Ritsuka apologized, shivering again since the nice lady was preparing to leave and folding her blanket up. He trained his eyes on the floor, too afraid to look and see Soubi angry at him. Soubi just sighed and the next thing Ritsuka felt was him draping his oversized fleece coat over his shoulders. Ritsuka glanced up, seeing Soubi kneeling before him. Soubi helped him into the coat and rolled up the sleeves until Ritsuka's tiny hands peaked out. Ritsuka, thinking that they were going to leave, started walking towards the door, but Soubi immediately picked him up and set him back down in front of him. He pulled the scarf from his own neck, revealing the bandages that Ritsuka was so curious about. He wrapped the long scarf around Ritsuka's exposed neck, fixing it so that it covered his chin and the bottom of his human ears, too.

Soubi pulled a pair of gloves on his hands, as well, before picking him up like a toddler, in a way that Ritsuka's head was resting on his shoulder. Ritsuka wrapped both arms around his neck, sleepy after having walked so far. The next thing that he remembered was waking up on Soubi's bed, hearing the water running. Soubi was sitting beside him, telling him he was going to call Seimei and that he was running Ritsuka a bath. Ritsuka begged Soubi not to tell Seimei. Soubi told him no, though, and that he was going to call Seimei and that Ritsuka was going to take a bath and once he'd be out of the bath, Seimei would be here and ready to take him home.

"I don't want to go home!" Ritsuka yelled, startling Soubi, clutching at his jacket. "Please don't make me go home!"

He couldn't go home. His Daddy would just hurt him again and again and again. It was safe here, at Soubi's apartment. That wretched man couldn't reach him here. Here, it was alright to tell…it was okay to finally say something, to tell someone. That monster wouldn't be able to hear here. He'd said that if he ever told, he'd hurt everyone Ritsuka loved, but he wouldn't know, not here. He seemed to hear and know everything, but this place was beyond his reach.

So, Soubi was the very first person he told. He clutched the man's jacket in both hands, crouching on the bed next to him, breathing hard. Quietly, softly, almost regretfully, he whispered, "My Daddy…Daddy does things to me." He then collapsed against Soubi, unable to take the pain and the suffering anymore, holding onto him as if his life depended on it.

* * *

><p>"What do you want this late at night?"<p>

"He came to me."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I got a call from the Student Center about an hour ago. They told me a child had come asking for my address."

"Ritsuka…he walked all the way to your university?"

"Yes."

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Did he tell you anything?"

"Yes."

"What'd he tell you?"

"I know it's not my place to say, but I think it'd be better if you come here before I tell you."

"Will he tell me himself?"

"No."

"Why is that?"

"He begged me not to tell you."

"Alright, I'll be over there soon. Is he alright now?"

"Yes. I ran a bath for him. He's in it now."

"Good. What'd you do for him?"

"I took him back home and let him sleep for a little. Is it alright to let him sleep on my bed after he's done in the bath?"

"Yes. That's fine."

* * *

><p>When Seimei arrived, however, he was in a hurry, since he'd just gotten a call from Septimal Moon sending him out on a mission. He took Ritsuka home before Soubi could get a word in and left the next day, still unconvinced that either of his innocent, <em>loving<em> parents could ever do anything to little Ritsuka. When he was called home by his mother after just five days and came home to his father raping a screaming Ritsuka, Seimei lost all control and told Soubi to take a now passed out Ritsuka to a nice hotel in the south, far, far away from Kiyoshi.

That day, Seimei learned to never trust anyone, not even Soubi, the man who was too afraid to disobey him. The only person he _could _trust was Ritsuka. That was the day when he decided that he'd make a perfect world for Ritsuka and himself. That was also the day that he stopped seeing everyone around him as humans. Only he and Ritsuka were humans, the only two people with no bad intentions. That was the day that Seimei lost it completely and his one focus became protecting his little brother from the monsters of this world.

* * *

><p>The next time the kids on the block saw Ritsuka was a month later. It was when Aki, Hayato, and Yatsuhiro peaked out their window early in the morning and saw Ritsuka playing basketball with a tall blonde man out in the street of the cul-de-sac. After Ritsuka had been gone for a month, both from school and from home, this came as a shock. The triplets immediately called up the remaining families (three had moved away since they heard Aoyagi Kiyoshi was in the hospital) to tell them.<p>

Chizu-chan was the first to come out of her house. She watched Ritsuka and the strange man for a few minutes on her doorstep. Ritsuka was bouncing the ball, staring at his feet, not even running around and laughing like he used to. The strange man apparently noticed as well, since he picked Ritsuka up and let the little boy throw the ball in the basket from only about a meter away and about two meters up. He set Ritsuka back down and clapped and smiled, picking the ball back up and holding it out to Ritsuka.

Ritsuka-kun had changed. She could see it and all the others could see it, too. None of them approached Ritsuka and the strange man, even when Seimei came out to watch the two of them. When Seimei finally talked to the two of them, apparently saying it was time to leave, the three of them all got into a car together and drove off, never to be seen again. The Aoyagi family moved to a near but different neighborhood after Ritsuka was hospitalized and lost his memories. Apparently, Ritsuka didn't even return to pack his things up, only Seimei did, and that was just for a day.

* * *

><p>The next time Chizu-chan saw Ritsuka and the blonde man was nearly four years later, when Chizu and the rest of the kids finally understood what exactly had been done to Ritsuka. It was just a regular summer day. She'd just gotten off of school and had a lazy day ahead of her. The only thing scheduled was her weekly therapy visit. The doorbell rang in the middle of the morning and Chizu padded down the stairs to see who it was. When she opened the door, she immediately recognized the blonde man who'd been playing with Ritsuka that one day. Holding hands with him was a taller, thirteen year-old Ritsuka.<p>

After years and years of therapy to try to forgive herself for not telling, the only thing she felt like she could do was slam the door in both their faces and run back upstairs.

* * *

><p><strong>Annnd that wraps this prequel up~ Lots of the things in here will be elaborated on in Healing in later chapters and everything will start making sense, I promise.<strong>

**Chapter title taken from the Offspring's 'Kristy are you doin okay'.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again! I really appriciate that you take the time to do so, especially those of you who write more than a sentence! :J**

**~Wolfie**


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